Here you can learn more about how and why load shedding affects LTE signal.
Why does load shedding affect LTE signal?
When load shedding occurs, an LTE tower should remain fully functional for as long as its backup batteries last. Please note that most, but not all towers have backup batteries.
The average backup battery generally has the capacity to last 4 - 8 hours before they require electricity to recharge, which can take up to 12 hours. The problem comes in when load shedding cycles occur and the batteries have had insufficient time to recharge, specifically during advanced stages of load shedding. The result is that the tower stops working entirely and LTE speeds are thus affected - becoming slower or intermittent.
How does load shedding affect my fixed LTE service?
Typically with load shedding, if your nearest LTE tower with the strongest signal goes down, you could then be connected to another tower that's further away. In this instance, if you're on the edge of that tower this can result in an intermittent LTE service due to the signal traveling a further distance.
It is also worth noting that the network service quality will start degrading if more people connect to the LTE towers which are still powered up – in other words, the number of LTE subscribers utilising signal from certain towers would be increased, while the capacity of these towers would be reduced.
What impact does load shedding have on LTE towers?
Once power is fully depleted, the tower stops working entirely and, depending on the configuration of nearby towers, may cause a coverage area to black out entirely or for customers to experience intermittent service. Some towers do have backup generators running on diesel, which means they can continue to run while being refueled.
Batteries have a limited number of charge / deplete cycles, which means the more often they are called on to work, the shorter their lifespan. With infrequent outages, a battery can last for five years, but with frequent outages due to load shedding this will reduce to one year or two years. In addition, load shedding depletes the efficacy of batteries because they are not given adequate time to recharge, which means that battery backup becomes shorter every time.
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